The Consequences of Duty
by Michelle285
Summary: Why does Mia feel she has to get married? Does Joe agree? What about Clarisse? How will Clarisse feel when she learns some things about herself and Mia that she doesn't like? Could be considered Mia-centric...there is some Joe and Clarisse...give it a chance?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. I own mistakes, but hopefully there aren't any that you'll see!_

_ A/N: This is my first try at this type of a fic. Clarisse and Joe have captured my attention and I have to try this. Granted, there aren't as many romantic moments in here as I would hope, but we'll see how it goes. I'm not an Anne Hathaway fan but I really like Mia…and she's kind of who this story centers around. Enjoy! _

"Do you think it's crazy?"

Joe looked up from the book he had been reading. He saw Mia standing before him. "Do I think what's crazy, Princess?"

"Arranged marriages," Mia clarified. "Marrying someone you have been betrothed to since you were born…marrying because of a law."

Joe knew she was talking about Clarisse and herself. Joe decided to be honest with her. "Frankly, yes."

Mia sighed. "Me too."

Joe put his book down and walked toward her. He took her hands in his and squeezed them. "Then why are you doing it, sweetheart?"

Mia closed her eyes and tried to push back her tears. She knew Joe was the person she needed to talk to about this. She hadn't expected the caring tone in his voice combined with the concerned look in his eyes to bring her tears to the surface though.

Joe could see the young girl he had come to love over the last few years struggling with something. He did the only thing that felt natural to him. He pulled her into his arms.

Though shocked at the sudden movement, Mia almost immediately relaxed. She whispered, "Because I have to." After admitting it out loud, Mia hid her face in Joe's chest and let her tears fall.

When Mia's sobs turned into soft hitching breaths, Joe gently held her away from him. He led her to the plush couch in the library—quickly pushing his book to the floor—and sat down with her. He caught a stray tear with his forefinger then cupped her cheeks and slid his thumbs under her eyes to wipe away any traces of moisture. "Now, why do you think you have to do this?"

Mia slightly smiled. It wasn't only at Joe's tenderness with her, but also his choice of words. She had to correct him. "I don't think I have to do this. I _know_ I have to do it."

"Why do you think you have to do this?" Joe repeated.

Mia couldn't help it, her smile grew at Joe's nonplussed attitude. "I have my reasons."

"Well you saw what I was doing when you came in here," Joe said, indicating the now discarded book. "I have plenty of time."

Quickly making her decision, remembering that she did go looking for Joe with the intention to talk to him, she told him everything. "I want to rule Genovia. For 550 years the Renaldi's have ruled; there are pictures on the walls of the throne room to prove it. I want to be up there next to my father. I want my chance to make a difference as a ruler. I can't rule Genovia without a husband."

"According to Parliament," Joe reminded her. "I personally think you would do just fine without one. I don't think anyone had any doubt of it until that snake Mabry brought up the marriage law. I mean, look at your grandmother."

A sad smile appeared on Mia's face. "Grandma is the main reason I have to do this."

Joe's eyebrows arched. "Oh really?"

"She came to San Francisco to tell me I was a princess because she didn't want the throne to go to anyone but a true Renaldi," Mia explained. "She spent so much time on princess and queen lessons and I actually learned from them. I am the heir to the Genovian throne and she expects me to take it. After all, if I am the Queen and do well, maybe she'll finally be proud of me. I hate that I'm such a disappointment to her. I'm so tired of letting her down."

After Joe got over the shock of Mia's last three sentences, he quickly said, "Your grandmother has _always_ been proud of you."

"I've never given her any reason to be proud of me," Mia argued. "In fact, it looks like I was just begging her to be disappointed in me. Back in San Francisco at that horrible beach party, to a few days ago coming back to the garden party, dripping wet."

The resigned tone in Mia's voice cut into Joe's heart. As much as he didn't want to (in light of Clarisse's rejection of him the night before) he was going to have to have a talk with Clarisse. "I've told you time and time again, the beach incident was _not your fault_. The garden party could've been handled better, I'll admit, but regardless of what happens, your grandmother loves you. Did you see her face the night you agreed to be princess? She was proud of you that night."

"One night," Mia said. "Out of how many since she's known me?"

"You are not a disappointment!" Joe exclaimed, going back to the original argument. "You have not let your grandmother down. She's proud of you because…" Joe trailed off.

"Because I'm getting married tomorrow. Because I'm doing my duty." Mia finished for him. "I have to do this. If not for me, if not for Genovia, for Grandma. I'm not going to let her down again. All I've ever wanted to do is make her proud of me."

Joe cringed. She had finished his sentence pretty accurately. He knew Clarisse loved Mia, even if she sometimes had trouble showing it. He also knew Clarisse didn't think of Mia as a disappointment, she just wasn't used to an American teenaged granddaughter. "I don't think she would want you to get married for her."

"She's going to be proud of me," Mia said resolutely. "I'm going to get married."

Joe wanted to say more, but could tell Mia had already made up her mind. Nothing he could say would change her mind and he didn't want to waste his energy talking in circles with this girl that reminded him so much of her grandmother. After all, as soon as she left, he was going to have to summon all his energy and speak to the queen.

"Thanks for the talk, Joe," Mia gently kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

-%

Clarisse sat in the security room, shocked. She didn't even remember why she had come in the first place. She knew she had a reason, but seeing Mia and Joe in the library and hearing their conversation, had left her mind strangely blank. This was why she didn't spy on people! Clarisse knew she had to get out of the room before she lost it, but she couldn't seem to make her feet move.

Mia thought Clarisse was disappointed in her. Mia thought Clarisse didn't love her? She hadn't known Mia for more than five years, and in those five years had only managed to be with her on holidays and her summers from school. Had she really managed to alienate her granddaughter in such a short time?

Clarisse knew Mia had a good relationship with Joe, after she commanded him to "babysit" her in America and stay with her until her school semester was finished five years before. Overall, Clarisse and Joe had probably spent equal time with Mia; Clarisse maybe a tad more. Still though, Mia had looked for Joe that night and not Clarisse. Maybe all the rumors were true. Maybe she really was incapable of loving anyone. That thought shot a dagger through Clarisse's heart. She _really_ had to get out of the security room and Scott's worried gaze, but she felt paralyzed. She just…she just _couldn't_ move from her seat.

"Your Majesty," A voice said from her right.

She turned her head and saw Charlotte standing beside her. Scott must have called her. She'd have to remember to thank the boy later, when she was in better possession of her faculties.

Charlotte exchanged a worried look with Shades. When he had called her, he'd given her a condensed version of what happened and when she got to the room, she knew it was bad. She addressed Clarisse again and when she still said nothing Charlotte decided to take matters into her own hands.

Clarisse felt her arm being gently tugged on and that sensation pushed her into slowly standing from her chair. Still though, her feet seemed frozen in place and she couldn't make them act the way they were supposed to.

Charlotte had to bite back a tired sigh. She was not cut out for this! This was Joe's job. Seeing what she had between them last night and knowing he was the one talking to Mia in the library, she knew he would not be able to help her now. She flipped through her metal Rolodex, thought of everything Joe did when leading Clarisse somewhere and tried valiantly to copy it.

In a few minutes, that seemed like hours to Charlotte—and that hadn't even really registered with Clarisse—they had arrived at the queen's private suite. Charlotte (knowing the queen would want next to no one to see her like this) had asked Shades to make sure there were no guards at her door when they arrived. Her mouth quirked into a small smile at his compliance of her request. Not a soul was around when they arrived, and a quick glance inside showed the suite was empty, not even a ladies' maid to be found.

Once in familiar territory, sitting on her loveseat in her suite, Clarisse became more aware of herself and what had transpired. She tried not to let a horrified expression take over her face. She was appalled at herself and her actions, but knew Charlotte was the best one to bear witness to the queen "losing it."

"Can I get you something, Your Majesty?" Charlotte questioned. "Tea or…"

Clarisse smiled at her ever faithful assistant. "No, thank you, Charlotte. I'll be fine. I'm sorry about…that." Clarisse found she didn't know how to explain the last few minutes.

Charlotte's face lit up into a smile. "About what?"

At Charlotte's dismissal of Clarisse's unqueenlike behavior, a bigger smile spread across Clarisse's face. "I don't know what I would do without you, Charlotte."

The smile stayed on Charlotte's face as she bowed, whispered, "Your Majesty," and backed out of the suite. Now, she had to find Shades so she could figure out _exactly_ what happened.

-%

Halfway to the security room, Charlotte bumped into Joe. "You aren't going to talk to the queen, are you?"

"Why not?" Joe asked. He loved Charlotte, but right now, he hated her for stopping him. Going to talk to Clarisse after what she had said to him last night was going to be hard enough without Charlotte giving him reasons why he shouldn't.

"She heard what happened in the library. She was in the security room when you were talking to Mia," Charlotte told Joe.

"Why?" Joe wondered. He couldn't imagine what business she could've had in the security room and couldn't believe Shades had kept the camera on and recording with the queen there listening.

Charlotte merely shrugged. "Shades didn't tell me why. He just called me to come and get her back to her suite. She was very upset."

Mia's defeated face and tone came back to Joe. "Well, she should've been."

Charlotte grabbed his arm. "Joe, I don't know what happened with you and her…or with you and Mia for that matter, but if you must talk to her…you will be gentle with her?"

"I can't guarantee anything," Joe told Charlotte truthfully.

Charlotte knew she had walked in on a private moment in the ballroom and knew they had both been hurt, but Joe must've been hurt worse than she first thought if he wasn't promising to be gentle with the queen. Charlotte never thought she would hear Joe be anything but tender and loving when talking about, or to, Clarisse.

"If you can't promise, then I can't promise the guard at her door will let you in," Charlotte countered. Surely the guard would be back by now?

Joe sighed. "Fine. I'll be calm."

Charlotte studied the man, but said nothing.

Joe, knowing Charlotte was trying to be sure he was being sincere and not just trying to get into her suite, smiled. "I promise."

Charlotte nodded, but with a protective fire lurking just behind her eyes. "If I find you broke your promise…"

Joe was glad Clarisse had someone looking out for her now that he had resigned and wasn't going to be around for much longer. He looked into Charlotte's eyes. "I won't."

-%

At Clarisse's door, Joe nodded to the guard as recognition. He knew he wouldn't have trouble getting in. It was common knowledge that he often came to her suite at night to discuss security measures. He hadn't told anyone that he was resigning, just left the letter on Clarisse's desk, and with the wedding the next day, any guard would assume he was coming to discuss the heightened security on the chapel.

Joe walked into the sitting room and saw Clarisse on her loveseat, with her head in her hands. He knew she was crying. He clenched his hands into fists at his side and willed them to stay there. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, just as he had done to her granddaughter not even an hour ago. Granted, he had told Charlotte she should be upset, but that didn't mean it didn't break his heart to see her hurt.

"What do you want?" Clarisse asked. She knew Joseph was there. She had heard the door open and she always knew when it was him. She was so attuned to him by now that she knew a part of her heart (if not the whole thing) was going to leave with him.

"Can you honestly tell me you approve of the marriage tomorrow?" Joe began. His hands were still fisted at his side. He knew if he uncurled them he wouldn't be able to resist the desire to run to her and enfold her in his arms. It wasn't his place to comfort her before, but after she rejected him, he definitely didn't have any right to do that now.

"I heard, Joseph!" Clarisse exclaimed. "I know you and Mia talked in the library and I heard what she said, I heard what you said. I feel bad enough and I don't need you here to rehash it all again, thank you! Besides, what's it to you? You don't-" Clarisse forced herself to continue. "You don't work here anymore."

Joe heard the crack in her voice and reminded himself of her rejection, reminded himself why he was putting himself through this torture. His hands itched to stroke her face, to do something that would take away her pain, but he resisted. He knew his nails were leaving an indentation in his palm from fisting his hands so tightly. "That doesn't mean I've stopped caring about the Princess. All I'm asking is that you start thinking more like a grandma and not so much like a queen."

Not two seconds after he left, Clarisse's tears fell faster. It wasn't only because she noticed he didn't say he still cared about _her _and Mia. She knew this was most likely the last time she would be able to really talk with him. How had things gotten so messed up? Mia was convinced Clarisse was disappointed in her and didn't love her. To rectify that, she was entering into a marriage she didn't want in an effort to make her grandmother proud of her, even though Clarisse already was. Joseph…he was leaving tomorrow and Clarisse had no idea how she was going to put her broken heart back together when the man she loved was taking practically all the pieces with him.

_No worries, there's another chapter! I wouldn't leave you hanging like that! Of course, I won't post the other chapter if you didn't like this one though. And I won't know if you liked this one unless you review! Do I think you should review then…yes! I'll post the next one sometime next week. Review if you want it and thanks for reading! _


	2. Chapter 2

_ Disclaimer: Characters are not mine._

_ A/N: Finally! I had every intention of posting this last week, I promise. My computer got sick though and I just got it back! The other computer in the house doesn't have Word on it so I couldn't use that one either. Anyway, back to the story…this is not cannon anymore. Well, some of it follows the movie, but some of it doesn't. You'll see what I mean if you continue. I hope you do and hope you enjoy! _

Mia sighed. It was the day of her wedding and she was sure the emotions she was feeling were all the wrong ones. She shook her head and pushed that thought from her mind. She was doing her duty. She was doing what was expected of her and she was going to do it because knowing her responsibility to her country was the most important thing she had learned in queen lessons.

Brigitte and Brigitta came in chattering about one thing or another. Mia didn't really listen too closely until she heard Brigitte say, "It's really too bad that Joe is resigning."

"What!" Mia cried. "Joe is resigning?"

"Brigitte!" Brigitta admonished, elbowing her friend. "We are supposed to say he's retiring."

"Whoa, whoa," Mia stopped the argument that could be brewing between the two. "Retiring, resigning, it doesn't matter. Are you sure? How do you know?"

"We're the maids," Brigitte said.

"Good grief, Brigitte," Brigitta said, sighing. "She's serious. We heard it from Olivia. She heard Her Majesty and Charlotte talking about it."

"How?" Mia questioned. "I'm sure they didn't talk about it while she was in the room."

"No, they didn't," Brigitte agreed. "Apparently she was getting ready to go in and she heard them talking…"

_"Your Majesty, are you sure?" Charlotte asked. _

_ "Positive," Clarisse answered. "Here's the letter." _

_ "Is everything okay?" Charlotte questioned quietly. _

_ "If Scott is ready to be Head of Security, everything's fine," Clarisse replied. _

_ "He's ready," Charlotte assured the queen. "I'm just not sure he wants to be Head of Security yet. But he'll step up to the plate." _

_ Clarisse nodded. "Good." _

_ "If anyone asks…" Charlotte let her last question trail off, hoping Clarisse would fill in the blanks for her. _

_ "Jo—He retired," Clarisse answered. _

_ Charlotte agreed finality evident. "Yes ma'am." _

"Olivia scurried away after that and returned ten minutes later," Brigitte concluded. "She said Her Majesty looked strange though. _I _find it particularly interesting Her Majesty said 'he' instead of 'Joseph.'"

Mia found that interesting also. Something must've happened between the two. They were so close and now, out of the blue, Joe was retiring and apparently being all secretive about it.

Lilly burst into the room at that moment and Mia had never been so glad to see her friend in her life. "Can you do me a big favor?"

"What?" Lilly asked.

"Can you find Joe for me and tell him I need to see him right away?" Mia requested. "Don't panic him, nothing's wrong…I just really need to talk to him!"

Normally Lilly would be full of questions, and she definitely was, but could tell this was not the time to ask them. "You got it!"

-%

Mia had sent her maids away and was sitting on the couch leafing through a magazine when Joe came in. "You needed something, Princess?"

"Why are you resigning?" Mia inquired.

Joe tried to hide his shock. He didn't think Clarisse would tell her granddaughter. "Who told you?"

"The maids know everything," Mia said dismissively. "Why would you leave? You've been here for…forever!"

Looking down at his feet, Joe tried to decide what to tell the girl. He didn't want to lie, but he wasn't about to tell her the truth either.

When it seemed obvious Joe wasn't going to answer, Mia sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, let's take this another way. You've been Grandma's bodyguard since you started working here, right?"

Joe didn't understand what this had to do with him resigning, but he was eager to change the subject. "Yes."

"That's pretty prestigious, Joe," Mia teased. "How did you get to protect the most important person in the palace when you were new?"

Joe rolled his eyes at her teasing. "Back then, the queen wasn't the most important person. King Rupert, may he rest in peace, was."

"True," Mia agreed. "Grandma was still pretty important though."

"The Head of Security, Robert, knew me from our days in the service," Joe explained. "Besides, Her Majesty's bodyguard had just quit. Robert suggested that I could be her bodyguard for a week and if everything went well and she had no objections I would continue to do so."

"And when King Rupert died and Grandma was the most important person in the palace…" Mia trailed off.

"I told everyone I was going to let William, the person who was supposed to be Head of Security be her bodyguard. I knew she would veto that though, and she did," Joe told Mia. "She said she had already gotten used to me."

Mia laughed. "How did William take that?"

"He was retiring in a few years anyway," Joe said. "He didn't mind…or at least he said he didn't mind…that I was getting the Head of Security job."

"Have you ever taken a vacation?" Mia wondered.

Joe shook his head. "Security guards don't get to take vacations. They don't even relax…ever. Especially when we are in charge of keeping someone safe. When their entire life is in our hands."

"What about that time Grandma and I went to explore San Francisco?" Mia questioned. "You weren't with us then."

"I was too busy worried about you to even think about relaxing," Joe replied, truthfully.

Mia laughed again. "Charlotte told us. She said you were being ridiculous."

"You don't go anywhere without your bodyguard!" Joe exclaimed.

Mia threw him a mock salute. "Speaking of, Charlotte said you were furious when Grandma and I went to the winter palace to make sure it would be a good location for the Children's Center until we could get the real one built."

"Again, you left without your bodyguard!" Joe reminded her.

"No, we didn't," Mia contradicted him. "We had Shades and Evan. They are very responsible and have been working here for a long time."

She had him there. He couldn't tell her that he didn't trust anyone else with Clarisse's life. "I am, in essence, responsible for the queen. I would feel so guilty if something happened to her and I wasn't there. There would be no way to know if I could've stopped it if I had been."

"Would you fire whoever let her get hurt?" Mia asked.

"Immediately," Joe answered without hesitation.

"So, let me see if I have this straight, you've been her bodyguard for…twenty plus years and you feel responsible for her…now you're just going to leave her?" Mia questioned.

Joe wanted to curse. He played right into her hand. He should've known she was going somewhere with these questions. Mia never asked anything that didn't have a point behind it. She also never gave up on something unless she exhausted all her options.

Joe sighed. "The heart does things for reason that reason does not understand."

Mia mimicked his sigh, finally understanding. "You're preaching to the choir, Joe."

"You're still going to get married," Joe surmised.

"We discussed this last night," Mia reminded him. "I _have_ to do my duty."

Joe really, really hated that word. It seemed to be a word that Clarisse used constantly to push him away. Now, Mia was adopting the same habit. "What if you tried to abolish the law?"

"Oh, sure," Mia said, sarcasm evident. "I'll just get up there and make a speech to Parliament in front of the whole church. You know how much speeches scare me. I would never have enough courage to do that."

Joe raised his eyebrows. "Courage is not the absence of fear…"

"But rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear," Mia finished. "That doesn't really help make your point. Marrying Andrew scares me to death. My duty is more important than my fear though."

As Brigitte and Brigitta rushed in, Joe looked into Mia's eyes. "I guess you have to decide which one scares you the most. That will be the right path to follow."

-%

Watching Mia walk up the aisle, Joe wondered if she actually thought marrying Andrew was scarier than making a speech. At the same time though, Joe knew she was probably doing what she thought she was supposed to do. _Duty_. He hoped she'd be happy.

Joe's eyes widened as she stopped walking. He looked to Charlotte and she looked to him with a bewildered look in her eyes. This was definitely not part of the ceremony.

As soon as Mia ran out, it seemed like only seconds before Clarisse was at the back of the church. Charlotte turned to the queen. "Do we rush after her?"

Joe tried to hide his smile at the queen's correction. "We never rush, we hasten."

At Clarisse's command, "Out of my way," Joe's smile did break though. After a rushed conversation with Shades in which they decided Shades would help Charlotte with the crowd and Joe would guard the princess and queen, Joe exited the same way Mia and Clarisse had.

-%

Seeing her granddaughter crying, Clarisse felt a tug on her heart. She never should've made her do this. She should've acted like a grandmother through all this and not a queen. Joe had been right last night.

Mia saw her grandma and quickly stood up. "Grandma, I'm sorry! I just need a minute. I can do this!"

Clarisse shook her head. It was time for her to be a grandma! "No."

"I can't do this," Mia whispered.

"I know," Clarisse assured her. "Darling, I made my choice, duty to my country over love. It's what I've always done it seems, it's been drummed into me my whole life. Now I've lost the only man I ever really loved."

Mia knew she was talking about Joe and at that moment, she noticed Joe standing near them. He told someone, Shades she assumed, he was with "the eagle and the sparrow."

Clarisse followed Mia's gaze and saw Joe. Her heart started to beat a bit faster. He looked completely disinterested, but she knew he was hanging onto every word. Good. She hoped he heard her last sentence.

Knowing that ship had already sailed, Clarisse turned back to her granddaughter. At least her bad decisions could help someone. "I want you to make your own choices. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Make your own mistakes, they'll be plenty of them! You can go back into that church and get married or you can walk away. Whatever choice you make, let it come from your heart."

Mia still didn't look certain, so Clarisse took Mia's hands and pulled her up to stand in front of her. She skimmed her knuckles down Mia's cheek. "It takes courage to enter into an arranged marriage, but it takes more to walk away and hope you find true love. No matter what you decide to do…I'm already so proud of you."

Mia's face bloomed into a smile and she hugged her grandmother tightly. "I love you, Grandma."

Clarisse smiled as well and tried to keep her tears at bay. "I love you too, darling."

Mia pulled back, closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

-%

Walking back toward the church, Mia threw Joe a smile. She knew he would be pleased with what she was about to do.

Clarisse's eyes connected with Joe's. She was daring him to challenge her on what she had just done. She hoped he understood she took his advice to heart and tried to be a grandma talking to granddaughter and not a queen talking to a subject.

Joe knew she was looking for approval from him. After she tried so hard to be a grandmother—and he knew she had—he wasn't about to disappoint her. He smiled and gave her a small wink.

A smile spread across Clarisse's face. Yes, he was still leaving, yes, he might still be angry with her, but in that moment, everything was as it used to be.

-%

Looking back on that afternoon, everything was a blur. Clarisse knew her wonderful granddaughter had abolished the marriage law and she was now married to Joe, but if anyone asked her for a recap of the afternoon, she wouldn't be able to give it to them.

Joe wasn't too clear on the details either. He remembered being extremely proud of Mia for what she had decided to do and hoped Parliament would pass the motion. The next thing he knew, he was slipping a ring on Clarisse's finger, promising to love and cherish her forever. He smiled. That was one promise he knew he would never break. He would always be indebted to Mia. He would never be able to express how glad he was that she helped to make his dream come true.

_ What did you think? I know, there really weren't a lot of Joe/Clarisse moments, but I did say this could be considered Mia-centric. At this point, this is complete. When/If I become more familiar with these characters and when/if I get inspired, I may put a third chapter on this. One that focuses entirely on Clarisse and Joe. I have another PD story finished that I will post soonish…barring any computer relapses…and that one is more Clarisse/Joe. I also have more PD ideas floating around in my head. We'll see if any of those see the light of day. Anyway, back to this story, if you liked…review! If you didn't like…review? If you read…review! Thanks for reading! _


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